


but you're scared of how to do it right

by dwarrowkings



Series: Gentleman's Wager Series - took my word I took your wine [1]
Category: Gentleman's Wager Series
Genre: Age Difference, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Giancarlo isn't given a name but that's who the man is! i'm sorry!, Jude and Giancarlo aren't married yet this is the first time they've met but they GET married later, Jude literally tripped into his perfect man, M/M, and Jude doesn't have a canon last name before they get married so WALKER IT IS, giancarlo is 55, jude is 25
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26076586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwarrowkings/pseuds/dwarrowkings
Summary: He’s doing the done thing in this part of Italy, which is, apparently, being fitted for a new suit by a doddering tailor old enough to be his father’s grandfather, and thinking about what he’s going to eat for lunch that won’t blow his diet too much, when the toe of his shoe catches on a mislaid cobblestone. He tips forward, already dreading being scolded by his makeup artist and hoping that at least the scar will be sexy instead of awful, when he feels a hand on his shoulder.Jude trips, and a handsome older man saves him from falling.Set in the Gentleman's Wager cinematic universe.
Relationships: Giancarlo Walker/Jude Walker
Series: Gentleman's Wager Series - took my word I took your wine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897531
Comments: 12
Kudos: 5





	but you're scared of how to do it right

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on two short films:[A Gentleman's Wager](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4393i2-OWk) and [A Gentleman's Wager II](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TgSW9EjnqE). 
> 
> If you can't find a pre-made fandom, making your own is fine. 
> 
> Making your own fandom does mean that now it exists and no one can take it away from us.  
> Title from "I Know" by Des Rocs.  
> Thanks to [@sosobriquet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sosobriquet) for being a lovely person & making sure that I didn't fuck up my tenses. 
> 
> Thanks to [@lurlur](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lurlur/pseuds/Lurlur) and [@D20Owlbear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/D20Owlbear) for being great people and encouraging the fuck out of this... whatever this is. 
> 
> Also: I don't know Italian! I'm so sorry! I stuck to basic things, but if I've fucked up royally, please let me know how I can fix it & I will be happy to do so.

Jude can measure time in before Giancarlo and after. At 25, he’s sure of what he wants. A career, money, maybe someone to fuck on the side so things don’t get too complicated. Simple. Predictable. At some point he’ll get too old to be the young ingenue he’s being billed as now, and he’ll either stay in the business or he won’t. He’ll deal with that later. For now, he’s 25, and the world is his oyster.

He’s vacationing in Italy, because everyone had told him that it was the thing to do in that pretentious, rich person way. So far, it seems like just another beautiful place with beautiful people and good food he can’t eat. Jude isn’t sure how much longer he will be able to stand it, but he is going to try his best to enjoy it while it lasts. 

He’s doing the done thing in this part of Italy, which is, apparently, being fitted for a new suit by a doddering tailor old enough to be his father’s grandfather, and thinking about what he’s going to eat for lunch that won’t blow his diet too much, when the toe of his shoe catches on a mislaid cobblestone. He tips forward, already dreading being scolded by his makeup artist and hoping that at least the scar will be sexy instead of awful, when he feels a hand on his shoulder. 

It arrests his momentum, spinning him around so instead of tumbling into the ground, he tumbles into his savior. He drops his bag, but forgets all about it when he looks into the man’s eyes. He’s shorter than Jude, but he looks up at him with clear blue eyes full of concern. Jude feels his stomach flutter in a way it hadn’t since his first crush. He can feel the man’s hand settle in the small of his back, and it’s comforting in a way that he had no reason to expect from a stranger. 

“Mi scusi,” Jude says, and then falters. He doesn’t really know that much Italian. The man hasn’t said anything yet. Jude can feel himself flush at the warmth of their bodies, a hair's breadth from each other, the pleasant weight of his hand, the amused look in his eyes. Jude can’t bear to look at his mouth. 

“Stai bene?” the man asks, and Jude can guess that the man is asking if he’s good. 

“Si, signore.” That’s close enough to the Spanish that Jude learned in his GCSEs that he can fake it until the man lets him go. Neither of them seem particularly inclined to pull away, which is enough of a surprise to Jude that he sucks in a breath. The man’s cologne is subtle, but this close, it’s a heady rush. 

He’s so used to people pulling at him, moving him around like a doll, hands cold and proprietary. But this isn’t like that at all - there’s no ownership to it. Jude could easily pull away, but marvel of marvels, he doesn’t want to. 

The realization is nothing so dramatic as a bell tolling, though there is that too. But Jude knows, somewhere deep and inexorable, that once it’s gone, he will miss the feeling of this man’s hand on his back for the rest of his life. 

“I’m so sorry, I don’t speak any more Italian than that.” The man’s mouth curls up in a devastating smile. He was right not to look earlier. It’s almost too much to handle. Jude’s hand settles on his arm - god his sweater is so soft, no wonder he’s so warm. 

“Have you been to Italy before, bellisimo?” Jude may not know a whole lot of Italian, but he knows when someone is calling him beautiful. 

“First time,” he says, with a laugh he knows comes off as charming, but is, in truth, nervous. He’s been told he’s captivating like this, but he’s never really understood it. It must be something about his energy - all that anxiety buzzing under the surface and showing up on camera. 

“Ah, don’t be so nervous! It is a beautiful country and this is a beautiful city. You fit right in.” The arm around him tightens in a reassuring hug, and Jude can feel his fingers tighten on the man’s sleeve. “But perhaps, you would like someone to show you?” 

“That would be lovely.” Jude’s mouth says. His brain is still kind of reeling that this beautiful, kind man is still talking to him, flirting with him. Then like the fast forward on a VHS tape, his brain catches up to his mouth and says. “Only if it wouldn’t be any trouble.” 

“I think you are very much trouble,” the man says, “but maybe the kind of trouble I like to be in.”


End file.
